


he wants more than his hat back

by orphan_account



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Roman Lives AU, he was in a coma for a few days, he was still alive though badly injured, he woke up in ironwoods office, im gonna try fo actually finish this maybe. no promises, neo is still alive, okay so basically i’m this au, someone cut in half the griffon that swallowed him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:40:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22324222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Roman was about to swing his cane down, but then in the blink of an eye everything went dark. He woke up missing a limb but a new found hatred for Cinder and willing to do anything to get back at her, even working with the enemy.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	he wants more than his hat back

The last few days were a complete haze in Roman’s mind. Sure he remembered bits and pieces, but for the most part it was just nothing, the last thing being Ruby Rose on top of an Atlas airship. 

He’s only been awake for short amounts in different places each time he opened his eyes. It wasn’t ideal, but he couldn’t do much considering the fact that this time when he woke up it was in an office that was probably nicer than any he’s had and his hands were cuffed to a chair. Well, his hand was cuffed.

He only had one. As well as one arm. His entire left arm was nowhere to be seen

He then realized that the only things he saw were things to his right. There was actually a very valid reason for that and it was because that eye just wasn’t there. Roman didn’t know how it took him that long to realize. Though in his defense he was awfully focused on seeing an entire arm gone.

Right about now would be the time when he would start questioning whoever was in the room about what the hell was going on. He would make sure it was in an annoying way he knew would get him whatever information he wanted, except there was no one here. Now that he started to look around the room he realized it was the office for some sucker who worked in the Atlas military. Big thing clueing that in was the fact there was a big picture window and outside was the city of Atlas. Real hard to miss that.

After sitting there for about a good half an hour doing nothing but staring out the window and thinking, someone walked in. He couldn’t see who, his chair turned away from the door, but he could hear the automatic door open and heavy footsteps. 

As the man walked past Roman’s chair to sit at his desk, he saw that Roman was awake. And Roman saw who the man was. He found it both funny and cruel for fate to put him in a situation where he was handcuffed and half blinded in James Ironwood’s office. 

There was an awkward 30 seconds of silence and eye contact before Roman decided to break it, saying “Wow, Jimmy, could’ve bought me dinner first before you left me handcuffed me in your office.” 

The second he processed what Roman said, James looked like he aged 10 years. He simply just sat down in his chair, put his head in his hands, and let out a very long sigh. He never wanted to just call it quits and let salem take over the world more than he did now. 

After James was finished feeling like he wanted doomsday to come now, he looked at Roman who looked like someone who knew how miserable he makes everyone around him feel and loves it. 

“A few things. One, I’m going to act like you never said that.” As he said the numbers, he counted them on his fingers. “Two, don’t call me Jimmy. Three, I’m going to ask you some questions and you’re going to give me answers. And finally four, if you cooperate I’ll be nice and maybe answer questions you have.” He leaned back in his chair. “Keep in mind that you’re defenceless, as well as missing an arm and eye. This isn’t Beacon. You have no sudden upper hand against me now.”

Roman rolled his eyes at the general’s callback to Beacon. “Still angry about that one, eh Jimmy?” He grinned seeing the other visibly become more irritated by that. “I’m no idiot though. I know when I’ve been had, and this is definitely one of those times. Must congratulate you on that. Though before I start talking, I'm going to have to request a new hat. Feeling a little naked without o-.”

“No.” James cut Roman off before he could even finish talking. “You’re not getting a damn hat. You’re going to talk or I’m going to make you talk.”

Roman’s posture straightened with Ironwood’s sudden change in demeanor, looking at him with wide eyes- or single eye now- as his smug look was gone in an instant. “Alright, alright. Fair enough. I guess I’ll be nice and answer some questions. A private Q&A for my number one fan.”

“No ‘I guess’. You will.” James said, completely ignoring the last thing Roman said as he took out his scroll. He pressed a button on it so it would start to record audio. “I’ll get right to the point; what’s Salem planning next? When is she coming for the staff?I’m already working on trying to find Ozpin’s next reincarnation.”

He simply stared at Ironwood after having a bombshell of information dropped on him. “What in the world are you talking about? Did being in a coma for a few days give me brain damage or something? I have no clue what the hell anything you said is.”

“You’re… telling me you know nothing? You worked for her, didn’t you? With the attack on beacon? All the dust store robberies? The White Fang?” There was a hint of desperation in his voice.

Roman shook his head. “I worked for Cinder, not whoever this Salem is. She set up my connections to the White Fang. She told me what to rob and gave me a ton of cash for it, so I did it. She told me about the beacon thing, said afterwards she’d give me more money than I’d ever seen in all my life, so I helped. Just had to get arrested, distract you, and she’d take care of the rest. Never did get that cash sadly.” He huffed. “That’s how it is this business i suppose. She said jump, I asked how high, but I never got a treat for doing the trick.”

James looked lost, any semblance of hope he had for clues about Salem or her plans gone in the blink of an eye. “You seriously know nothing? Not even overheard anything from Cinder? She had to have mentioned something without noticing you were around it.” 

Ironwood was grasping at straws now, but Roman was no help. “She was real good at keeping secrets on the low. Never questioned it because I was pretty sure that chick could kill me in a second. That’s just how it is in this line of business.” He finished the sentence with a shrug.

Roman looked as carefree as always, but James looked tired and defeated. Thinking had one easy way to get at least one one lead, turns out it was a dead end. He was back to square one as Salem had an entire mile on him. 

He laid his head down on his desk with a groan. “Of course you know nothing. Lucky for me you’re more clueless than I am. Great job James.” There was nothing but sarcasm in his voice, complaining to no one but the air while Roman was forced to listen.

While James was busy having a crisis, Roman was awkwardly looking around the office, taking in the decorations, or complete lack of. As he was looking, memories from the last four days suddenly hit him like a Griffon on an airship. He realized why he didn’t have a hat, why he was missing an eye and arm, and- most importantly- why he was basically alone in Atlas. 

“Where the hell is Neo?” There was a sense of urgency and panic in his voice. Any of his usual sly and joking attitude gone. 

Ironwood looked up at him. “I don’t know who that i-.”

“Well answered your damn questions, Ironwood. Take me back to Beacon. She’s probably still there. Go ask your little toy soldiers for me.”

Roman sounded almost frantic now and all James could do was give him a look of pity. “The last report I got from my men searching was yesterday. They’ve been searching for any survivors. Everyone they’ve found they’ve identified. There’s been no girl named ‘Neo’. The only bodies left around beacon are the ones who aren’t alive anymore. She either left the city as a whole or… she’s one of them.” He sighed. “I’ve gone over the reports multiple times since I got them yesterday morning. The area still is infested with grimm so even if she wasn’t dead, she isn’t there now.”

He felt his heart skip a beat and his blood run cold, his fingernails digging into the chair his singular hand was chained to. He didn’t want to think about the chance of Neo- the person who he viewed as his daughter- being dead, but that was the only thing in his mind.

Roman looked at Ironwood. “You’re going to let me help you take down whoever this ‘Salem’ is. I don’t give a shit about her, but if she goes down, so does Cinder. She took all I had, so I’m going to make sure she gets what’s coming to her.”

James was shocked hearing this to say the least. The last thing he thought he would hear today was that Roman Torchwick wanted to help him. “How can I even trust you? You’re a criminal. You double cross people and make their lives hell for a living. I should just have you arrested.”

“I don’t have anything left to gain, Jimmy. I don’t want money, or fame, or anything. I just want her dead. I couldn’t care less about screwing over you or any of your bootlickers. The only thing I want to screw over is her.”

Ironwood decided now wasn't the time to tell him to stop saying Jimmy. This was an offer he had to think about. Though Roman wasn’t acting like his normal self. He was serious. 

There was silence for almost a minute as Roman and James stared directly at each other. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife before Ironwood stood up without a word and walked over to where Roman was seated. He hesitated for a moment before deciding to unlock Roman’s handcuff. There was nothing keeping him from standing up, but originally James figured there wasn’t much he could do missing an arm and eye. 

Before Roman stood up, James said. “You’ll be given standard military training. You won’t be treated special. You’ll be working with me at all times. You listen to everything I, my second in command Winter, or my Ace-Ops tell you to do when we say it. I won’t repeat this again. You get three warnings before we decide to throw you in prison. Do I make myself clear?” 

“Yeah, whatever.”

“That’s ‘yes, sir’ to you. Stay here, someone will come get you sorted soon.” He walked to the door that opened as he approached. “By the way, if you call me Jimmy again, that’s 20 laps around the entire Atlas Academy campus.” And with that, he walked out.

**Author's Note:**

> let’s hope i continue this eventually :(


End file.
